RPGWatch Feature: Forge of Legends - March Development Update

In the March development update for Forge of Legends we are informed on the development progress made so far this year. Additional some thoughts on the kind of game Forge of Legends are aired.

My focus so far in 2013 has been twofold: items and abilities. In addition to the basic functions of weapons and armor, an item in Forge of Legends can bestow various magical effects on its wearer, as well as grant abilities (depending on the item). For example, a "ring of protection" or a "wand of summon monster." It was therefore natural that I work on the item and ability features at the same time.
I am happy to report that the majority of the equipment system is now complete, as well as much of the mechanics of "abilities" (more on that later) and "effects."

Something else I've been considering is the proliferation of "old school" RPGs. The Coyote recently blogged about this, if I am not mistaken. When I began Forge of Legends some years ago, I was convinced that the old school RPG niche was vast and under-served. Sadly, as a one-man team, it has taken me years of development, and now I see that the RPG market is… crowded? This is something that is now frequently on my mind. I wonder what members of the RPG-gamer community would have to say about this? Am I now in a bad position because my game has missed the window of opportunity?

If you have some thoughts on this and the other questions put forward, let us know.More information.

The problem with wands, scrolls, potions etc. in other games has been that they are often an absolute pain to equip. Would be handy to have something like quickslots so you have quick access to useful items. Also to be able to equip both a ranged weapon and a melee weapon at the same time and have them auto switch according to range (if you have attacks when monster's are closing), or even just manual weapon switching. M&M did auto switching quite early on, if I remember correctly.

And … Please bear us left handers in mind when designing the UI - I do so hate having to constantly click stuff on the far right of the screen .

If I was being a little critical, I might say that, as things stand, the UI presentation at this stage is a bit basic and that would probably be important for marketing if it remained that way.

I don't see that you'd want to lower the price too much, certainly not to burger level. For a game of this type, that would just scream that you were not yourself confident of it's ability to stand up against other titles in the market, when in fact you are going for a title with a lot of depth. It seems to me though that making a competitive CRPG of any complexity on one's own is a daunting task (cf Grimoire).

I don't imagine that the current proliferation of CRPGs will saturate the market, just alleviate the drought somewhat (and maybe somewhat raise the quality bar). It certainly wasn't saturated in the 90s when there were a lot more franchises than there are now.

For potions and scrolls, you actually will not need to "equip" them. If they are in your inventory you can use them (though scrolls have some skill prerequisites). Wands, however, must be equipped in an off-hand. Hopefully that won't prove to be too onerous.

Auto-switching weapons I had not considered, but you are right about that feature. I will add it to the list.

I hear your point about pricing, and it mirrors my own concerns when I consider a price drop. I do want to be careful with what I convey via price choice. I will say that, if I do price low (and nothing is decided yet) that my goal would be to allow the game to reach as many people as possible. Even if it means not making much money, I would love for more people to know about the game than not. It's not been that long since all games I wrote were free.

Glad to hear your thoughts on market saturation as well. I hope you're right. Of course, will it still be the case when I finally finish the project?

Originally Posted by empireforge
For potions and scrolls, you actually will not need to "equip" them. If they are in your inventory you can use them (though scrolls have some skill prerequisites). Wands, however, must be equipped in an off-hand. Hopefully that won't prove to be too onerous.

The last two images here: http://might-and-magic.ru/plug-e-gallery-f-57.html are screenshots for new M&M X. I notice that they have a quick bar under the portraits, so that you don't have to go into other screens during combat. My feeling is that in a party game you really don't want to be constantly opening and closing your inventory (or other windows) to swap equipment in out of your hand slots during your combat rounds.

Also WRT to spells, Wizardry's old system where you bring up a separate spell page every time you want to cast a different spell or alter the spell strengh is a pretty clunky way of doing that, I think. Am sure that can be improved too.

Originally Posted by empireforge
I hear your point about pricing, and it mirrors my own concerns when I consider a price drop. I do want to be careful with what I convey via price choice. I will say that, if I do price low (and nothing is decided yet) that my goal would be to allow the game to reach as many people as possible. Even if it means not making much money, I would love for more people to know about the game than not. It's not been that long since all games I wrote were free.

You can always lower the price later, if necessary, but it's much harder to raise it substantially and it would probably be better strategy to have a higher price you can discount. Also, If you crowd fund at any stage, you can then offer your pledgers a "discount" over the initial selling price. And of course on steam and GOG there are lots of sales anyway. Plus, whilst starving in a garret for your art is very romantic, La Boheme didn't end well.

Originally Posted by empireforge
Glad to hear your thoughts on market saturation as well. I hope you're right. Of course, will it still be the case when I finally finish the project?

Unfortunately my visionary powers don't stretch that far into the future. Certainly, I'll buy a copy if I'm still alive by that time .

Sounds amazing! I will definitely purchase your game. Reading all your hard work, thoughts about everything , how we would enjoy and what could make the game enjoyable , is just gratifying. You will definitely get your reward for all of this.

Wish game developers would think at least a little like you.

As an RPG fan and new to this forum, I wish you the best of luck, patience and knowledge. For sure your hard work will be compensated. That is unavoidable.

I just got around to reading this update and it's looking good! I like the positional / tactical aspects you are adding to the traditional 1st-person RPG formula. I think that is one thing that sets your game apart from others in the old-school revival.

As for market saturation - I follow old school projects quite a bit and I still feel it is far from saturated. It is a lot healthier than it used to be - lots more activity. But these are good things. Developers can learn from and get inspiration from each other. The quality ones will definitely stand out though.

I agree with Roq's thoughts on pricing. You definitely don't want to undervalue your work and starting too high is better than starting too low. Below burger level is far too low. That is the realm of simple mobile games - and this looks far more complex and interesting than that.